Mayor Villaraigosa tells L.A. it will be 'a tough time for everyone'

Acknowledging his own mistakes and painting a grim picture of the city's finances, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday outlined a series of deep cuts in city services and renewed calls for shared sacrifice among all city workers.

Villaraigosa's proposed 2010-11 budget, released as he delivered his annual State of the City address, calls for cuts in nearly every city agency, along with reduced services and higher fees for Angelenos and layoffs and unpaid furloughs for city workers.

"I think everybody realizes the urgency of our present financial condition," Villaraigosa said during the speech at the new Police Administration Building. "This is a tough time for everyone right now in Los Angeles. We are experiencing an historic economic collapse.

"This is our new economic reality - a recession that is tearing at the fabric of our communities. A recession that is tearing a gaping hole in our budget and forcing us to take measures unimaginable a few short years ago."

"This is not a budget that reflects why I ran for office," Villaraigosa added, noting he had hoped to add services, not take them away.

Reflecting the dire state of the city's finances, Villaraigosa delivered his State of the City in somber tones and was interrupted only once for applause by the crowd of 200.

The mayor's proposed budget for the coming fiscal year totals $6.7 billion, down from the current year's $7 billion, reflecting a loss in city tax revenue. It has a series of steps to close a projected $485 million spending shortfall that includes a combination of one-time revenues from the leasing of parking facilities, a freeze on capital project spending and citywide reductions in services.

Under the plan:

The Los Angeles Police Department will be able to maintain a sworn force of 9,963 officers but continue cuts made in the civilian work force.

Daytime child care at parks will be eliminated and summer recreation programs are being scaled back.

The mayor and council offices will see their budgets reduced by 7.4 percent.

Golf green fees are expected to go up again to make the system self-sustaining.

The city will continue to fund 735 miles of street resurfacing and repair. However, the number of potholes being filled will decline from the current 300,000 to an undetermined amount, and repair response time will be increased beyond the promised 24 hours.

The newly built Northeast Animal Shelter, which has never been opened to the public but has been used to house animals, will be shut down completely.

On Monday, Villaraigosa released a list of 750 jobs that might face elimination this coming year, to generate a savings of $176 million. Beyond the layoffs, the budget also calls for furloughs for most city workers.

Employees who receive the annual cost of living adjustment - primarily those represented by the Engineers and Architects Association - will face 26 unpaid furlough days.

Other city workers, including those in the Coalition of City Unions, will have to take 16 furlough days.

Exempted from the furloughs are sworn police officers, traffic officers, and workers in the library, Recreation and Parks, zoo, Convention Center and special fund departments.

City unions said they are weighing options to fight the proposal. They also protested proposals that will reduce or eliminate certain services.

"Each of the layoffs in his budget represent a service - a park, a library, a public safety service - that would be cut back," said Bob Schoonover, president of SEIU Local 721.

Union leaders also said they intend to fight the proposed furloughs.

"We have sacrificed already," said Cheryl Parisi, chair of the Coalition of City Unions. "We had an agreement to forgo our raises and not face a furlough. The city is going back on its word."

The unions have proposed their own spending plan, including efforts to collect past debts, reducing the use of outside contracts, reducing the use of outside consultants and making changes in the city pension system.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich also objected to the renewed proposal to cut 104 positions from his office.

"This is absolutely the wrong time to cut my office," Trutanich said. "We are cutting every other department in the city, which means we will have more liability to deal with. It will end up costing the city more if we lose attorneys to defend it."

Gary Toebben, chief executive of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, however, said he supported the mayor's message.

"Businesses across the city have been dealing with this for two years," Toebben said. "Everyone has had to cut their operations, and the city is no different."

The budget also completes the elimination of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment by transferring its duties to the Community Development Department. It also eliminates the Human Services Department, transferring its functions to other city agencies.

The budget also anticipates an increase in the annual transfer to the city general fund from the Department of Water and Power. This year, the city had budgeted to receive $220million from the DWP, although the utility has been holding up $73 million in a dispute with the city over rate hikes. Next year's budget anticipates receiving $257 million.

The spending plan also calls for elimination of a number of popular programs including: Downtown on Ice; Feria del Libro; At the Park After Dark; Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust; day laborer sites; Special Fund Fee reimbursement; and the citywide special event fees. The City Council in the past has objected to efforts to eliminate the special event fees and has restored them.

The budget also calls for reductions in the Learn and Earn youth employment program; LA's Best; heritage month celebrations; council district community services; the office of Small Business and the city Volunteer Bureau.

Councilman Bernard Parks, chairman of the City Council's Budget and Finance Committee that will begin reviewing the plan next week, said he wants to see more details on how the city estimated its revenue for next year.

"I am not sure the revenue projections are accurate and we want to look at those," Parks said. "I do support the idea that all the money from parking lots will go into the reserve fund rather than for programs. But, my biggest concern is whether the revenue will really be there."

Villaraigosa also acknowledged that recent fights over the DWP rate hikes and revenue transfers had created tension at City Hall. He said he plans to reform the utility in coming weeks to make it more accountable to ratepayers and local businesses.

"I don't have to tell you that over the last several weeks, we have allowed darkness to cloud our optimism," Villaraigosa said.